Phones fixed, but outgoing email iffy at Mount Desert Island Hospital

BAR HARBOR, Maine — The phones have been fixed at a local hospital, according to a spokesman at that healthcare facility. However, outgoing emails still are having difficulty getting through.

Mount Desert Island Hospital experienced a phone outage Monday afternoon that lasted into Monday evening, MDI Hospital spokesman Bill Swain said Tuesday. The cause of the outage was a faulty voltage regulator in a generator that was given a routine test around midday Monday. Landlines at the hospital and at several nearby medical offices were affected.

The hospital set up analog phones for some of its primary lines and was able to receive and make calls Monday afternoon, according to Swain. As of 9 p.m. Monday, the facility had its regular digital phone system working again, he said.

But as of Tuesday afternoon, the hospital still was having some issues with outgoing emails, though it seems to have no problem with incoming emails, Swain said. He expected the email problem would be cleared up by the end of the business day on Tuesday.

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Swain said the hospital has ordered a replacement part for the faulty generator and has a backup generator ready to go if emergency power is needed.

He said that aside from the communications issues, nothing at the hospital was affected by the incident.